During a small offset frontal impact of a vehicle, the impact is offset from major structural components of the vehicle. Offset frontal impacts can be simulated with a small offset rigid barrier (“SORB”) frontal crash test. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (“IIHS”) sets a standard for a SORB frontal crash tests. In a SORB frontal crash test, the vehicle impacts a rigid barrier at 40 miles/hour with 25% of an outer portion of the front end of the vehicle overlapping the rigid barrier.
The impact contact surface during a small offset frontal impact is offset from the major structural components of the vehicle, such as front rails and subframe longitudinal members. As a result, these major structural components do not absorb energy effectively during the impact. Rather, the load path of the offset impact can travel through a bumper beam to backup structures behind a wheel of the vehicle. The backup structures include, for example, a floor, a dash, and a hinge pillar of the vehicle. The impact load is directed along this load path and the energy of the impact is absorbed along this load path.
During the small offset frontal impact, the bumper beam moves rearward. The wheel of the vehicle can bridge the load path between the bumper beam and the backup structures as the bumper beam moves rearward into the wheel and forces the wheel to move into the backup structures. Since the wheel bridges the load path, the orientation of the wheel affects the load path and the energy absorption during the frontal impact. When the wheel is oriented with a front portion of the wheel being positioned outboard relative to a rear portion of the wheel, the wheel is trapped between the bumper beam and the backup structures and may disadvantageously cause the wheel to intrude into the floor, dash or hinge pillar of the vehicle. Intrusion of the wheel into the floor, dash or hinge pillar of the vehicle are metrics that are recorded in the IIHS SORB frontal crash test.
When the vehicle is deflected in a lateral direction during the impact, some of the energy of the impact may be redirected away from the backup structures. Moreover, when the wheel is oriented with the front portion of the wheel being positioned inboard relative to the rear portion of the wheel, the magnitude of load transferred to the backup structures may be minimized, and the possibility of intrusion of the wheel into the floor, dash or hinge pillar reduced. Orientation of the wheel with the front portion of the wheel inboard may result in better structural ratings and overall ratings in the IIHS SORB frontal crash test.
Accordingly, there remains an opportunity to design a system that deflects the energy from the impact away from the backup structures, and, in addition, orients the wheel with a front portion of the wheel inboard to help minimize the magnitude of load transferred to the backup structures, decreasing the possibility of intrusion of the wheel into the floor, dash or hinge pillars.